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The Merrie Monarch Hula Festival officially started on April 5th and goes until April 12th. It is the largest hula festival in Hawaii and brings competitors from all over the world. If you really love hula, this is an event you don’t want to miss.

In addition to the main competition, there are events and activities happening all over the Big Island. You can find hula demonstrations, Hawaiian culture presentations and craft fairs selling a number of unique Hawaiian made goods. Most events are centered around Hilo, located on the eastern side of the island (which is where the Merrie Monarch is held).

Hawaii Island Gourmet and Atebara Chips, the first chip company in Hawaii, is located just down the road from the main Merrie Monarch competition. They are running a special “Buy 4 Get 1 Free” on any of their 4oz chips. This includes their sweet potato chips, taro chips, original Atebara potato chips, furikake potato chips, and the locally flavored ginger and garlic sweet potato chips. Their sweet potato chips and taro chips use locally produce and are made right in Hilo like they have been since 1936.

You an find more information at the link below. At the bottom of the linked page you can also find links to schedules of the various activities and events and more information on the Merrie Monarch.

If you want a healthy chip then you should be considering sweet potato chips over regular potato chips. As it turns out, not all potatoes are created equal.

Sweet potatoes are generally thought of as being healthier than regular potatoes. However, there is one sweet potato in particular that was recommended as a superfood by Dr. Oz, that is the purple sweet potato.

So what’s so special about the purple sweet potato? The color. No, seriously the color.

The vibrant color of a of a purple sweet potato comes from a naturally occurring antioxidant called anthocyanins. It is this same antioxidant that gives blueberries their dark color. Only sweet potatoes have 150% more of them than blueberries. Antioxidants have been found to have various cancer fighting abilities.

They are high in a number of various vitamins and have been shown to help regulate blood sugar and even reduce the risk of heart disease.

Now lets get back to chips. Since we are focusing on healthy there are two things that we need to think about. The first is where the sweet potatoes are coming from. The two main areas that grow sweet potatoes are Hawaii and Asia. Purple sweet potatoes grown in Hawaii have to meet various US regulations and so are generally deemed as safer and higher quality. With many of the others coming from China.

The second thing to consider is what is used to make the chip. The fewer the ingredients the better. Hawaii Island Gourmet sweet potato chips use only three ingredients: Hawaii grown purple sweet potatoes, oil, and salt. There are no additives or preservatives. The great flavor comes from the locally made purple sweet potatoes.